Shadowed Phoenix
by Black Padfoot
Summary: When nothing seems to go right and all you have left is your imagination, the smallest of things can mean a world of difference. Rating subject to change
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello again! Yes I know I keep on adding new stories and keep forgetting to finish the old ones but I actually dreamt this plotline (don't ask… I also dreamt that the world was ending and I was feeding my puppy so he wouldn't starve in eternity!) So I just had to write it. Anyway, Reviewing would be nice… (Oh! And also, before I forget, Lily is not in any way Harry's mother in this story nor is she related to him in any way… It's just a coincidence of name…)**

**Disclaimer: None of the characters you recognise belong to me. Any characters you don't recognise are mine…**

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"NO! Petunia! You can't go… don't leave me… don't leave me with that freak! PETUNIA! NOOOO!" cried Vernon Dursley desperately but in vain for Petunia had already gone.

Her pale face now lifeless, she left Vernon Dursley in a sobbing heap, Dudley Dursley alone and Harry Potter doomed to a miserable life.

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"Oy Potter! Catch!" yelled one of the boys, much too late as the ball he had been talking about came ramming forcefully into the scrawny figure of Harry Potter.

Sneering at the fallen boy, the others came and picked up the ball.

"See, you're so useless you can't even catch a ball. I wouldn't want you on my doorstep. You're lucky you're uncle's so kind; if it were me you'd be dead."

As they walked away, guffawing at the boy who made the joke and the girls giggling, Harry just stared at the backs of his fellow classmates trying to hide the tear slowly making its way down his cheek. He was used to their taunting, their jibes at his lack of family and their insults of him but he'd never get used to feeling alone. For years now Harry had always dreamed that someone would come pick him up and they'd fly away to a better life; somewhere he would have friends and family and where he wouldn't be shunned. But alas, Harry had come to realise that it was all just a dream.

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As it was a normal rainy lunchtime, Harry could be found curled up in the school library amongst all the dusty volumes and picture books. Curled up in a corner, Harry didn't hear anyone approach until he felt a light tapping on his shoulder. Looking up, he came face to face with one of the girls he recognised as being in his class.

"What do you want?" he asked bitterly, already expecting some taunt or insult.

"Erm… You're that Potter kid right? She asked nervously.

"Yea... so?" replied Harry shortly

"Could you… Could you show me where the stallion books are? I wanted to show some of my friends what a gorgeous breed they are but I couldn't find where the books are…"

Staring at the girl suspiciously Harry decided he could just show her where the books were. Slowly getting up and still looking for any hidden pranks, Harry walked over to the animals section of the library and picked out a book on horses for her.

Hugging the book to her chest, the girl was delighted she had found the right one.

"Thanks! Hey… what's your real name?"

"…Harry…" said Harry, still occupied with looking for a hidden prank which he was sure was coming at any second.

"Oh… I'm Lily. Can I come back here sometimes and talk to you?"

"Er… yea sure…" replied Harry, somewhat taken aback.

"Ok bye" smiled the girl before bouncing off, curls flying behind her.

As Harry stood staring at her retreating back, he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face when he had found no hidden prank and someone had actually said something nice to him.

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**A/N: Yea I know this sort of plotline is nothing like the rest of the stories I've written… The rating will probably go up as more chapters come… Just in case anyone wants to know, Harry and his classmates in this story are fourteen. In the beginning part where Petunia dies, Harry is two years old. Dudley doesn't go to this school… he ran away from home… hope that answers any random questions that I can't be bothered putting into the plotline… **

**Please Review… **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello! Me again! Hope you guys liked the last chapter… I didn't leave a long enough pause (2hrs) within doing the second chapter to find out coz no-one had reviewed by then but please review this chapter… I have the idea for this story absolutely finalized but I just have to still write it… it definitely won't take as long as any of my other stories though coz I'm still not sure where they're going! (Oh! And btw, they are not in the wizarding world… it's a normal muggle school…)**

**Disclaimer in chapter 1.

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As the weeks wore on Lily came to see Harry more and more often and they even became friends though none of Lily's other friends would know that.

They even had lunch together whenever it was a rainy day and they were confined to being indoors. It was some of the happiest moments Harry could remember whenever he was with Lily. Her contagious laugh and bubbly nature made her a great person to spend time with and an even better friend.

After school, once everybody else had left, they had taken to walking down to the local café and having hot chocolate before Harry walked Lily home and sadly walked home himself.

This day was like any other.

As their teacher walked into class, the students stood, chanted 'Good Morning Ms. Mills' and sat down for roll call.

Normally, the children would take out their maths work and begin on that but the teacher had an announcement to make today.

"Till the end of next term you will have a project to complete as well all your normal school work. You will be doing this project individually and will carry out research into any material which you have approved by me. This could include a favourite animal, sport, book or even one of your fellow classmates. It is to be presented in either a booklet or poster. You will be getting assessed on this and the student with the highest marks will receive a prize at the end of year prize giving. That is all I have to say; if you have an idea for your project come and talk to me."

As chatter started up around the room about what people were going to do for their project or in some cases, bragging about whose project would win, Harry raked his mind trying to think of what to do. Looking around, Harry caught Lily's eyes and with a mysterious grin she whispered that she had an idea.

Having seen that look before and knowing that nothing good ever came from it, Harry nervously awaited when school would finish so she could tell him over hot chocolate. (It was a sunny day so she would be playing outside at lunchtime)

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After what seemed like an abnormally long day, the bell finally rang signalling that school had ended. Taking longer to pack his bag, Harry always managed to miss the stampede out of the gates.

Walking over to the swing set in the playground, Harry found Lily already waiting for him.

"Hey slowpoke. How was school today?" she grinned.

"Fine," replied Harry, "Now what was it you had that scary look on your face for when Mills announced the project?"

"Scary! Why… I'm offended!" she grinned, teasing him as normal.

Rolling his eyes, Harry knew a mere tickling would suffice to get the wanted information out of her and surely enough she gave in within a couple of seconds.

"Oh fine! …I was thinking… drum roll," she paused dramatically at which point Harry rolled his eyes again, "we could do the project on each other!"

Harry only stared at her which prompted a fast explanation.

"Oh come on! Pretty much no-one in our whole class even knows your first name leave alone anything about you!"

"Let's keep it that way" muttered Harry, his hands in his pockets and already starting to walk to the coffee shop.

"Come on Harry!" whined Lily, puppy-dog eyes in full view, "And you can spill any dirty little secrets on me!"

Immediately surrendering to the puppy-dog eyes, Harry finally agreed.

"Dam those puppy-dog eyes to hell!" fumed Harry on the way to the coffee shop but Lily never even heard; she was too busy planning her project.

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**A/N: Ok so that was pretty much a fill-in chapter because I realised that my plan had a gap of about a year in between there and I couldn't really skip that year but don't worry; this'll only take one or two chappies…**

**Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again! In case any of you are wondering why I'm updating faster than normal now it's because I'm on holidays…**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter**

**Disclaimer in Ch. 1.**

As the waitress brought both their cups of hot chocolate to their table, Harry was more subdued than normal.Lily of course noticed this.

"Harry, what is it?" she asked gently.

When Harry didn't answer for a while, Lily began to get worried.

"Harry…"

"What exactly were you planning to research?" asked Harry abruptly.

"Erm… just the normal stuff," replied Lily, a confused look on her face, "Like your parents, where and when you were born, and your past. Why?"

"Lils," began Harry cautiously staring out the shop window, "Maybe doing this project on each other wasn't such a good idea…"

"Harry… what?"

"I mean," began Harry in a falsely cheerful voice, "there are so many more interesting topics out there… who really wants to learn about me?"

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Lily knew Harry was up to something and she was going to find out what.

As Harry was walking Lily home he was bombarded with questions. Stubbornly not saying anything, this only spurred Lily on more.

Finally, in a manner quite unlike himself, Harry snapped.

"Fine, Lily! You want to know so badly, I'll tell you. I was born here in England and I think I was quite happy for the first year of my life. Then my parents die in a car crash, or so I was told. Years later I receive an anonymous letter saying that they were actually murdered. Then I get sent to my Aunt and Uncle's place; total change from what I remember I was used to. My name stopped being Harry; it turned to 'boy' or 'freak'. So just when I thought I was getting used to that my Aunt dies too. So me and my brat cousin are stuck with my uncle and even my cousin snaps after a while. He ran away from home when we were five leaving me no choice but to stay with my uncle. Oh yeah, did I mention. He has a nasty temper and four fucking friends who always seem to want to rip the clothes off me! Oh but you wouldn't know all of that would you? Nope, you just live there in your dreamy little world. You have no idea of what really goes on do you!" he finished yelling before walking off in a rage.

"Harry… I…" began Lily but not knowing what else to do, she broke down and ran into her house.

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Lunchtime the next day seemed to come quicker than normal and since it was a rainy day again, they would be stuck inside.

Harry and Lily had been avoiding each other all day but as both loved going to the library on a cold and rainy lunchtime, they decided to go but sit in different places.

All was going fine, Harry was reading in the same little corner he used to when he was little and Lily was nowhere in sight.

Once again not hearing any approaching footsteps, Harry was shocked to find someone tapping his arm. Looking up into the face of Lily, Harry was hit with the déjà vu of the time they first talked.

Sighing, Harry knew they would have to talk at some time; he just didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Lily," Harry began quietly, "look, I know I overreacted a bit yesterday. I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't deserve that."

"No Harry, I'm sorry. I should have realised you didn't want to talk about it. It was my fault. But anyway, that wasn't what I came here for."

"It wasn't?" said Harry, surprise evident on his face.

"No, actually I wanted to give you this…" she said, suddenly feeling quite shy.

Harry took the little package from her hands with confusion etched into his face.

"Lils, you didn't ha…"

"Happy Birthday Harry!" said Lily, laughing at the look of utter shock on Harry's face before taking out a camera from her bag and clicking it.

"My birthday… I'd… forgotten! How'd you know?" said Harry when he had regained his voice.

"You mentioned it once in passing and I knew you'd never mention it again so I wrote it down in my diary. Well, what are you waiting for? Open it!" she urged.

Slowing unfolding the delicate wrapping Harry pulled out a tiny box and a little bottle of what seemed to be some gel. Not wanting to be rude but not knowing what it was, Harry deemed it safer not to say anything.

"So do you like it?" asked Lily with a worried face.

"Erm… Lils, what is it?"

"Oh! Harry… they're contacts. You know how you're always complaining that glasses are a pain in the arse and how they keep breaking! So I got you some clear contacts. I even went to your optometrist to get them so he recommended the best ones for your eyes!"

"Oh!" laughed Harry, suddenly feeling very silly. "Thanks so much Lils, I love it!"

Getting up from his position Harry gathered Lily in a giant hug. As Harry didn't normally hug anyone, this was a new experience for Lily but she quickly hugged back. And they stayed that way for the rest of their lunch break; their fight from yesterday forgotten and their happiness of the moment the only thing in their minds.

**A/N: Yes I know this wasn't the best chapter I've ever written… it was sort of a spur of the moment thing. Anyway, please review. Oh and no flames! You can give me _constructive _criticism if you want but I'm gonna ignore any flames. **

**Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello all! Hope you had fun reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! I did except no one I know has finished yet so I can't discuss it yet… pouts Anyway, while I'm waiting for someone else to finish, I decided to write another chapter to the story. Enjoy.**

**Note: Disclaimer in Ch1 and from a couple of chapters on the story gets darker. Some rape involved too… If you don't like then don't read…

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Harry was having- and enjoying- one of those quiet moments. You know the ones you cherish before everyone else has got to school…

Until of course, a familiar voice ripped through the air;

"HAARRRYYYYY!" yelled Lily causing Harry to jump about a foot in the air.

"Yes?" he asked, eyeing the girl warily.

"Guess what today is?" she asked in a sing song voice.

"…Friday…" he answered, thoroughly confused, "why?"

"That means tomorrow is…"

"Erm… Saturday… Lily, where exactly are you going with this?"

"Not just any Saturday Harry!" bubbled Lily, completely ignoring his previous question, "It's the sales tomorrow!"

"Erm… so?" replied Harry bewildered as to why that should concern him.

"Because silly! We're going shopping!" replied Lily as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Couldn't you… I don't know… Go with some of your _female_ friends?"

Lily stopped her tirade for a moment and stared at him as though only suddenly seeing him.

"No Harry," she said slowly, "I'm taking _you_ shopping for some new clothes."

This time it was Harry's turn to stare at her before he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" glared Lily, her hands on her hips.

"You are" said Harry between laughs, "Like I'm coming shopping with you. Good one Lils."

But when Lily didn't reply and only looked at him, Harry suddenly realised she wasn't joking.

"Lils, you've got to be kidding… I'm not coming shopping! I'm a guy for goodness' sake! I know you; you go all girly and hyper when you see a shop!"

But Lily only gave him a look which suggested that it was her final word.

"Meet me at the gate at 9.30am tomorrow okay? Oh hey, I hear some of the guys coming. See you after school!"

As Harry stared after her retreating back he couldn't help the feeling of dread that had settled in the pit of his stomach.

As the rest of the class arrived and settled into their usual routine of work amidst chatter, Harry could be caught staring idly out the classroom window.

He scanned the playground with a bored expression as he had already finished all his work though he didn't really notice anything unusual until he saw a man dismounting a large black motorbike and walking in the direction of the building his class was situated in. Sitting up a bit straighter, Harry's eyes followed the progress of this man until he could see him no more and could instead hear his footsteps down the hall, fast approaching.

The door suddenly banged open with a resounding 'thud' and the whole class stopped to stare at this new man. He was of an average height with greying brown hair. He looked about middle-aged but seemed a lot older. His progress was once again followed but this time by the whole class as he walked purposefully towards the teacher and handed her a note which she read and then re-read before looking at the man as though determining whether he was joking. He merely shook his head.

"Very well," said Mills standing up, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin here would like to have a word with you."

Once again bewildered, Harry slowly got up and followed the man amidst sniggers from his fellow classmates who most likely thought he was in trouble for something.

Having only seen this man once before, Harry knew that was not the case.

As they walked out the classroom Harry could sense the eyes of his classmates on his back.

"Harry, nice to finally meet you," Said the man with a warm smile, "I am Remus Lupin, an old friend of your parents'. I understand you have received a letter about our world though have refused to join it. I wondered if you might reconsider?"

"No sir, I already stated earlier that I would not be part of a world that has raised the murderer of my parents right under their noses." Said Harry simply, though his curiosity ached to ask this man about his parents.

"Very well then," he sighed, "As your Godfather was in one of our prisons and recently died due to extreme conditions, the reading of his will has declared that his motorbike, half his bank balance (which incidentally consists of over 6.5 million dollars) and his three bedroom apartment all be rightfully handed over to you. According to wizarding law, these cannot be touched by anyone you wish not to and cannot be taken from you. You can gift these to others if you wish but unless you consent, nothing will be taken. I wasn't supposed to do this but as you will have no way of learning otherwise, I have taken the liberty of acquiring a motorbike licence for you and the knowledge of how to ride it. Should you wish me to, I can transfer these to you now. It will only take a few seconds."

"Okay" said Harry nervously.

Muttering some words in another language Harry couldn't understand, the only thing Harry felt was a slight change in the atmosphere but it was gone as soon as it came.

As he handed the license card, the keys to the motorbike and the legal documentation copy of the will to Harry, Remus wished Harry a short goodbye.

"Take care of yourself Harry, you're doing just fine. If you ever reconsider joining our world, just let me know. I'm sorry I cannot stay longer, there are many things I wish to ask you too but I must be on my way. Goodbye, we shall meet again someday I hope." Before disappearing into thin air.

His eyes the size of saucers, Harry only stared at the spot he was a minute ago, his brain just registering the fact that not only had the man not said how to contact him if he ever changed his mind but the fact that he was now rich and no one could take that away from him.

"Mr. Potter, please come back into the classroom now," called his teacher from the doorway, "You've been staring at the same spot for a couple of minutes now.

Not saying anything, Harry just walked into the class and took his seat, his mind numb with shock.

Harry saw Lily turning around in her desk with a questioning look on her face but said nothing once more.

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"Hey Harry!" called Lily jogging up to him after school. "What'd that guy say? You still haven't spoken a word since he left." 

"Lily," said Harry slowly turning around to stare at her, "See that motorbike over there? That's mine."

"Wha… but… but… Harry! You don't have a licen…" stuttered Lily before Harry showed her the license card.

"… and I now have over 6.5 million bucks… Oh my god! I also have an apartment …which I can apparently move into any time. I don't even have to be of age…!" muttered Harry, more registering the fact with himself than Lily.

"Harry… what?" asked a confused Lily before Harry handed her the copy of the document.

Neither of them said anything while she scanned through the thick paper and then, like Mills, re-read it before looking up at him.

"…Oh… my… God…" was all she managed to get out.

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**A/N: Hello… In one of the reviews I had a question asking whether they are at Hogwarts too. Forgot to mention but its AU and they're at a muggle high-school. There are references from the wizarding world, as you saw in this chapter, but that is it. Let's just say that Harry refused to be a part of the wizarding world. **

**Hope this chapter made sense. Once again, constructive criticism is appreciated, flames are not (But yes jbfritz I do accept flaming good reviews!)**

**Will try to get another chapter out sometime soon but in the meantime:**

**Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello… I find it strange that I'm still updating this story so often even though I only actually have around five reviewers… oh well… I enjoy writing this story so I will but I'm hoping to get more reviews soon… Thanks to all those who already review… much appreciated.**

**Hope you enjoyed HBP.**

It had taken awhile for Harry to get used to his new inheritances but get used to them he had. As Harry no longer required living with Vernon (he had stopped calling him uncle years ago; he's not a blood relative so why should he…) he had already talked to him about moving out within the next two to three months and honestly, Vernon couldn't have been happier to lose one more burden.

True to his promise, Harry met Lily at the school gates on his new motorbike which he decided he now loved. After the knowledge of riding it and the licence had been passed to Harry, he had no problems with it.

Although Lily did.

It took a long while to persuade Lily to get on the bike and even when she did, it was absolutely impossible to stop her screaming in Harry's ears all the way to the mall.

Glad for a break from the screaming, Harry happily dismounted the bike with Lily not far behind.

"God, Harry! I don't know how you can ride that thing! It's an accident waiting to happen!" panted Lily, obviously tired from her screaming for which Harry was grateful; it meant less shops for him!

Harry didn't say anything but only walked into the mall with Lily jogging to catch up all the while muttering to herself about where she planned to go.

With quite a bit of steering from Lily as this was the first time Harry had actually been to the mall, she finally led him to a small shop around the middle of the shopping centre. Looking around, Harry immediately knew that she could spend ages in here. Though the shop was small, it was cosy looking and housed hundreds of boys styles and patterns.

With a squeal from Lily, she was off grabbing items off the shelves and chucking them into Harry's hands. After the pile was so large Harry could barely see over it leave alone walk, Lily led him into the changing rooms and told him to try them on.

"All of them?" asked Harry with shock, his voice muffled by the pile of clothes.

"Yup!" said Lily simply, leaving no room for argument.

She waited outside the changing rooms while Harry fashioned each piece of clothing.

After much consideration from Lily and much clothes changing from Harry they had finally picked a whole fifteen items to purchase! These ranged from jeans to pants, t-shirts to dress shirts, beach wear and more.

Finally happy with the clothing purchases, Lily bounced out of the store leaving a cursing Harry to carry the five bags. It took a while to spot Lily amidst all the shoppers but she soon came back to fetch him.

"Lils, where to now?" asked Harry

"The hairdressers!"

"Erm… Lils, you might want to save them the trouble… nobody can tame my hair." Pointed out Harry, his hair flopping into his eyes as though proving a point.

"Hmmm" was all Lily said while scrutinizing Harry's hair, "I think we can…"

Resigned to the fact that he was part of a shopping disaster Harry followed Lily into the Barbers.

Harry hardly had time to breathe from the moment he entered the shop; Lily took all his bags and three ladies came up to him. One fastened him into the chair, one put on the cloak to cover his clothes and one brought up all the equipment to cut his hair.

The first one then went over to Lily who promptly started having a chat to her about what hairstyles would suit Harry. Finally they agreed on something, though Harry had no clue what, and they began cutting his hair.

45 minutes later and Harry was none the wiser what they were trying to do though at least half his mop of hair now lay on the floor. After another 15 minutes the woman cutting his hair pronounced it finished and gave him some gel and tips on how to style it.

Looking back into the mirror after her demonstration styling, Harry was shocked to see that his hair looked tame and moreover, it looked good! Not too short and not too long, it was held in place by only a tiny bit of gel and it looked fabulous. Even Lily who came up squealing at how good he looked thought so!

"Are we done now?" asked Harry, though with a smile on his face.

"Yes, we are," laughed Lily, happy that he was happy, "Shall we go get some lunch?"

"Amen!" was all Harry said before running off to the food court and leaving Lily to carry the bags, albeit very grudgingly.

After a nice warm lunch and Lily all the while discussing their shopping trip, they finally left for the motorbike.

"Hey, Harry, how are we getting all these bags not to fly off the bike?" asked Lily resigned to the fact that they would be riding the wretched contraption again.

"Oh there's a small pouch around the back we can stuff them into" said Harry airily as he was standing there admiring the bike.

Rolling her eyes at Harry, Lily found it and managed to stuff all their purchases into the bike.

After the short ride home and more screaming from Lily, even Harry was happy to say the shopping trip went well.

"Thanks for everything Lils," said Harry with a hug outside Lily's house.

"No probs," laughed Lily, hugging right back (they'd taken to hugging a lot recently)

"I'm just glad you're happy."

"Bye!" called Harry, already halfway to the bike.

With a whole stash of new clothes, a great new hairdo and more confidence than when he left home in the morning, Harry felt refreshed enough to do just about anything!

**A/N: Sorry if that chapter was a bit boring or corny… I'm technically supposed to be finishing by science fair project but hey, I decided to do this instead. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.**

**Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello again! Wow… I normally never update stories this fast… it's actually quite shocking… Anyway thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter… much appreciated…

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The next couple of months seemed to flow by for Harry filled with Lily, work, motorbikes and the fact that he was moving out in just under two weeks.

Their class projects had all been finished after increasing amounts of stress, hard work and arguments, Harry having done motorbikes as his topic (which drew Lily to roll her eyes yet again) and Lily having done the different effects of sun on tropical and everyday flowers which earned her the prize at the end of year prize giving.

Which brings us to the current time; the prize giving ceremony.

All the classes had filed into the school hall and were awaiting the awards to begin.

Unbeknownst to Harry, it had been Vernon who had been chosen to deliver the awards; he was so shocked to see him walk onto the stage that he almost fell off his seat.

The normal prizes came and went and finally it came to the time of their class prizes.

As Lily was called up to receive her project prize, Harry could hear the deafening applause of their fellow classmates but settled with clapping normally instead. As Lily was walking off the stage however, whilst turning to grin cheerfully at her class, she tripped and with her, brought down Vernon.

Vernon, having never been a man with much patience at all, started yelling at her for her clumsiness, obviously forgetting the presence of the rest of the school, before he slapped her hard, the crack resounding through the hall.

There was an immediate scraping of chairs as many of Lily's other classmates decided to show Vernon a piece of their minds but none of them were quicker than Harry for he was already up on the stage.

Even Vernon seemed to realise that something was wrong as Harry walked purposefully towards him. As soon as he turned around, he was delivered a sound punch in the face, his nose instantly breaking. But Harry wasn't done there; he didn't stop punching and kicking Vernon amidst all his yelling at him.

"Harry!" yelled Lily though there were tears in her eyes from her pain, "Don't do it Harry! He's not worth it! Harry!"

Through his absolute rage at Vernon, Harry only barely heard Lily and stopped punching Vernon, though not before delivering a kick where it would really hurt.

Walking over to Lily, Harry didn't even notice the eyes of the rest of the school on both of them or register the look of absolute shock and bewilderment on the faces of his frozen classmates.

"Lils," he whispered gently, "You Ok?"

But Lily's only response was to hug Harry before crying on his shoulder. Suddenly remembering the presence of the rest of the school, Harry decided to save her the embarrassment she would surely feel later.

"Hey Lils, want to go grab a hot chocolate?" asked Harry with a smile knowing Lily could never refuse one of those.

Sure enough, Lily's head emerged from within his shoulder with a smile.

"Sure." She whispered back.

Sweeping into her arms bride style, Harry pointedly ignored the rest of the school and walked straight down the side aisle and out of the door.

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As Lily and Harry had decided on a spur of the moment to see a movie that night, Harry had camped out on the couch at her house as it was far too late to show up at Vernon's especially when he was already surely angry at Harry for breaking his nose and possibly a couple of ribs.

The next day dawned bright and sunny though not at all reflecting Harry's mood; he was now slightly nervous about facing the rest of his classmates.

Lily seemed to notice this as they were walking to school; Harry had left the motorbike at school the day before when they had walked to the café.

"Harry, I'm sure it'll be fine. Stop worrying…" said Lily gently though the effect was anything but soothing on Harry; he knew how protective of Lily the other boys in her class were and the fact that nobody in his class even knew his name leave alone the fact that he had been Lily's best friends for a couple of years now seemed to make him only _slightly _nervous.

Lily seemed to realise that Harry wouldn't change his mind no matter what she said so she switched the conversation to discussing the movie they had seen the night before. Before either of them knew it, they had arrived at the school grounds.

According to their plan, Lily was to go into the classroom first, just in case, and Harry would take longer to unpack his bag before coming into the classroom.

Taking a deep breath, Harry slowly pushed open the door and came face to face with a whole lot of his classmates staring at him as though only seeing him for the first time.

"Guys," said Lily quietly though addressing the rest of the class, "This is Harry, my best friend."

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**A/N: Hello… Sorry to leave it at such a cliff-hanger… couldn't resist…**

**Anyway, hope that chapter wasn't too weird…**

**Please Review! **


	7. Chapter 7

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WARNING: This chapter contains graphic rape and is not suitable for children. If you do not like that then don't read… you can skip to the next chapter though if you want…

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"_Guys," said Lily quietly though addressing the rest of the class, "This is Harry, my best friend."_

Only silence greeted her comment as neither Harry nor the rest of the class wished to say anything. Lily was looking awkwardly at both parties as though a fight might break out any moment. Harry's face was unreadable.

However no one expected what happened next;

Mark, the so called 'leader' of the boys group, stepped forward and clapped Harry on the back effectively pulling the mask off Harry's face to be replaced with a look of surprise.

"Thanks mate for… you know… yesterday and all…" he began awkwardly, "but anyone who looks after Lil is good with us… or at least me…"

"Oh… um, no worries… I'd hardly be a good friend if I didn't go help her out…" replied Harry quietly.

Both boys suddenly looked at Lily who was bouncing on the balls of her feet and looking on the verge of hysteria for some reason.

Until she snapped; running forward she pulled both boys into a hug and burst out crying with happiness.

"Erm… s'alright Lils…" tried Mark patting her on the back though adding in an undertone to Harry, "Why's she crying?" to which Harry only shrugged before bursting out laughing.

"Harry!" cried Lily pulling away and looking mock offended, "I know you're thinking I'm absolutely mental now aren't you?"

"Lils, I'd hardly be human if I didn't think you were mental a long time ago" replied Harry still chuckling at her which earned him a hit in the shoulder.

Though that did effectively loosen the tension in the room as more people started to loosen up and laugh a bit.

After chatting and getting to know each other a tiny bit, their teacher walked into the room and told them to begin on their work though she did call Harry and Lily out of the classroom.

"How are you feeling Ms. Jasmyne?" she asked solemnly, being the only one to ever call Lily by her last name, which she hated.

"Fine Miss." Replied Lily with a smile albeit a bit forced.

"And Mr. Potter, though your measures were a bit… extreme… I thank you for rushing to the aid of your fellow classmate." She added with a smile making it clear that Harry wasn't even receiving a detention.

Harry only smiled though trying desperately not to laugh.

"Oh very well, I suppose I should let you continue with your work then." She said ushering them back into the classroom not noticing their giggling at her solemnity.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Harry as it was the second happiest day he could ever remember (the first being that day in the library with Lily).

He'd managed to make friends with almost everybody in his class as most of them were in large groups of friends anyway and followed whatever another did.

Even Lily was beaming as they both walked to the motorbike after school.

After both putting on their helmets and getting on the bike, the familiar screaming from Lily started up.

"You'll never get used to her will you?" asked Harry amusedly patting the bike as they dismounted in front of the coffee shop.

"No." said Lily stubbornly to which Harry only laughed.

While both were sipping their hot chocolates, Harry could be found once again staring out the shop window.

"Harry? What's wrong…? I thought you were happy to meet more people…" asked Lily confusedly.

"Wha… Oh no, no Lil, it's not that," Harry rushed to assure her, "I was just thinking… I'm going to have to go back to Vernon's tonight… and tonight's when the fuckers come over to play cards" he added bitterly, obviously referring to Vernon's friends.

"Oh…" replied Lily quietly not knowing what else to say, "…You can always come and stay at my place again… my mum thought you were a sweet, charming boy so she won't mind and the plain fact that you have a motorbike means you're O.K with my dad…"

"No I can't Lil; I have to face them again at some point. I'd love to come though," he assured her seeing her face fall, "But you understand? I can't keep running away…"

"Yeah alright then… If you're sure Harry but be careful… If you need any help then just call me or ride over to my place okay?"

"Sure thing…" Replied Harry but Lily was unconvinced. If she knew Harry, and she did, he'd only make things worse should anything happen.

* * *

As Harry dropped her home and rode off, Lily hastened to call Mark, Daniel, Jason and Brandon and a few others whom she knew could help.

As Harry parked the motorbike, he could hear the distinct sound of 'the fuckers' as he'd so kindly dubbed them, laughing in that way that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Though his plan was to walk quietly into his room and not be noticed, it was thwarted by the fact that they had heard the motorbike pulling up.

All of them were waiting for him as he opened the door, Vernon in the front, his nose covered by a large bandage and other cuts and bruises around his body. He still seemed to be walking with a limp after Harry had kicked him.

"Where the fuck have you been?" growled Vernon, grabbing him by his hair.

"None of your business!" yelled Harry trying to escape but the fuckers wouldn't have any of it.

As he was easily grabbed up by the largest one of them, not even the slightest bit of Harry's kicking and punching seemed to help.

Dumping him unceremoniously on the carpet in the lounge, they all crowded around with a greedy look on their faces.

"This'll show you to mess with me, freak!" yelled Vernon amusedly, standing back to watch, though Harry had the distinct feeling that he wouldn't have been able to perform even if he had wanted to.

Harry struggled as much as he could but with four large full grown men ripping off his clothes, there wasn't a whole lot he could do. One of them had gagged him while another kept entering Harry causing him to scream piercingly even through the gag.

Even through his screaming, Harry could hear Vernon laughing sadistically in the background though he did not hear any of the sirens outside or the door being busted open.

Harry didn't notice any of that until all the fuckers were off him and being pummelled by some of the guys and even some cops who were dragging them outside.

If the guys noticed Harry's state, they didn't let on, probably guessing his preference for Lily to tend to him.

"Harry!" cried Lily rushing up to him and covering his shaking body with a blanket though not before he passed out.

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**A/N: Wow… That was some of the darkest stuff I've ever written… hope not to do that again… **

**Anyway, I should also point out that as well as dreaming this actual plotline, I also kind of got the idea from the song 'Concrete Angel' by Martina McBride. **

**Please Review…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again… I read through this story from the beginning as though I wasn't the one who wrote it and I have to admit that it's sounding a bit rushed… so I'm going to try put some more descriptive language in and slow it down a bit too…**

**Sorry about the last chapter too… I realise it was quite dark… (Or as jbfritz put it… YUCK…) but it was necessary to the plotline… Hope you enjoy this chapter…**

**Btw, is there anyone reading this who has finished HBP? Just wondering…

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As far as Harry could see, there was darkness. It spanned the large horizon, seemingly stretching on forever. All was quiet until there was a rustling from behind him, in the forest which Harry had only just noticed.

Feeling oddly relaxed, Harry just watched as three large animals crept slowly out from the bushes; One was a large, majestic looking stag, another was a large, brown wolf with honey coloured eyes and the last was an enormous, shaggy black dog.

As all of them slowly crept towards Harry, he noticed another smaller rustling behind them but was alert this time for he felt this one was the intruder. And sure enough, a battered looking rat came bounding out of the bushes. The other three animals attacked. Certain that this was the enemy yet not knowing exactly what the rat had done, Harry only felt an odd sense of confusion as he watched it scurrying away from the other three animals. As Harry stretched out his hand to these familiar looking animals, they started to fade. The closer he got to the animals, the more desperate he became to see them again yet the closer he got, the faster they disappeared.

Slowly, Harry started to hear more voices, all calling his name. As they started getting louder and louder, the noise reverberated in Harry's ears. Opening his eyes, he immediately wished he hadn't; sunlight filtered into the room, causing Harry to shield his eyes. When he looked again there were lots of blurry figures standing over him.

"Who are you?" he asked weakly, not recognising any of them.

Hearing shocked gasps, Harry began to get worried.

"Doesn't he remember us?" he heard someone say, "No… surely a bit of blood loss couldn't cause his amnesia" he heard another familiar voice reply.

"Oh! He doesn't have his glasses!" cried another before Harry felt the familiar cool of his glasses sliding onto his face, the figures immediately becoming clear.

"Oh! Harry! We were so worried! How are you feeling?" asked Lily, her face clearly showing streaks of tears.

Harry looked confused for a minute before he remembered the previous night. As the memories came flooding back to him, he struggled to breathe, looking around wildly to see if they were still there before Lily placed a gentle hand on his chest, guiding him to sit down again.

"Good to see you again Harry," said Mark quietly, surrounded by others from his class and Lily's parents, "We'll go wait outside; give you two some privacy…"

As the majority of the room walked out the door, Harry heard shouts of 'good to see you mate', 'get better soon', and even 'take care Harry!'

Soon all that were left in the room were Lily, her parents and Harry.

"Oh, Harry!" gushed Lily's mother, Sandra, "We rushed over as soon as we heard! How horrible… if there's anything we can do just call!"

"Actually there is something," remembered Harry with a smile, "Drake, could you please look after the motorbike until I get out?" he asked, addressing Lily's father.

The look on Drake's face clearly said he did not mind one tiny bit.

"Alright dear, we'll leave you two alone now. Lily, I understand if you wish to stay the night, just be careful." Said Sandra gently, her and Drake already making their way to the door.

"Alright, bye! Thanks for everything…" called Harry as they left.

As it was now only Lily and Harry in the room, they just looked at each other for a minute before Lily burst out crying, drawing Harry into a large hug.

"Shh… Lils… It's alright," soothed Harry, "I'm fine now… I wouldn't have been if it weren't for you…"

But Lily only cried harder; "But Harry… it was my fault that it happened in the first place!" she mumbled, her face buried in his shoulder.

Surprised, Harry pulled her back. "How do you get that?"

"Well, if I hadn't been so busy celebrating my success, I wouldn't have tripped and Vernon wouldn't have hit me and you wouldn't have beaten him up, thus causing him to get angry and let them do that to you!" she said in one breath, causing Harry to stare at her.

"Lily, you are definitely one of the more crazy people I've ever met but what happened was in no way your fault! Understand?" he said firmly, looking her in the eyes which he had only just noticed were a nice shade of blue.

Reluctantly, Lily nodded though still looking a bit unconvinced; she knew Harry was most likely in some pain and some psychological worry yet here he was comforting her! As she started to feel guilty, Harry seemed to read her thoughts.

"No, Lily! I'm fine… trust me… fine…" he finished though by the end of his sentence he seemed to be convincing himself as the memories of the previous night flooded back.

"Harry," said Lily thickly through her own tears, "I know you can't be fine. I'm here… you can talk to me about it…" she offered though she knew he wouldn't.

But as Harry noticed their close proximity, he slowly brought his face closer before brushing his lips softly over Lily's. Though both of them had wide eyes after that, neither regretted it, Lily even coming closer for another kiss.

As night seemed to have already fallen outside, Lily decided to stay the night with Harry, just in case. Climbing up onto the soft hospital bed, she snuggled close to Harry, neither saying a word, and both soon fell asleep.

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**A/N: (wags finger) no dirty thoughts! They're only sleeping (and they're 16!)… Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't as rushed as some of the other ones…**

**Reviewing would be nice…**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I actually decided to do review responses this chapter…**

**Jbfritz: hahahaha… that was so random! Why hot pokers? And yes I have finished HBP… Glad someone else has; I finished it on the day I got it and no one else I knew had so I nearly went mental trying to find someone to discuss it with! And when my mates finished, none of them really believed my theories! They were just humouring me… pout…**

**Anyway, thanks for being such a faithful reviewer! Hope you enjoy this chap…**

**Makotochi: haha… true… yea I might be shocked at Harry if he was feeling up to doing anything… Thanks for reviewing!**

**Emma Barrows: Glad you enjoy the story… thanks for being another faithful reviewer… hehe, when I post a chapter, I can always count on a review from you and jbfritz! (That's a good thing…)**

**Anyway, hope anyone else who's reading this story and not reviewing (pointedly glares) enjoys this chapter too…

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Morning dawned bright and early for the two sleeping friends. Both were still snuggled comfortable in each others' arms and with Harry's arm protectively around Lily and her head snuggled in the crook of his arm, her arm resting on his chest, it was easily the comfiest sleep either of them had had in a long while.

But this was destined to be disturbed by the sudden giggling that had erupted from somewhere in the room.

Groaning and both slowly opening their eyes, they came face to face with a few of their classmates; Mark, Daniel, Jason, Brandon, Andrea, Jess, Kristin and Alyssa to be precise.

It was only then that both of them actually noticed the position they were currently curled in and what it must look like to their friends and both had the grace to blush a bright red.

"So… What did you two do after we'd gone?" asked Alyssa feigning innocence.

"We actually _didn't_ do anything," protested Harry with a small smile after figuring out that Lily was not going to say anything.

Still looking sceptical but deciding not to say anything, they switched onto different topics, Lily even occasionally joining in.

Finally they had arrived at the conversation Harry least wanted to come up; the reason he was in the hospital bed in the first place. However as Harry had been too lazy to take his arm off Lily and Lily seemed content lying there, Harry felt more confident to face the subject with her close to him.

"So, we found out today that Vernon and his erm… mates… were actually sentenced in court. Since the police actually saw what happened and the fact that there were so many of us trying to help out, they didn't even need you to testify. Apparently they got sentenced to thirteen years in prison." Remarked Brandon with a smile.

Though Harry felt some satisfaction at that, he couldn't help but feel that something was still missing.

"What else?" asked Harry.

"Well apparently as you had already smashed Vernon, it was counted as assault so you were also sentenced," began Alyssa though had to pause as Lily had shrieked, "to fifteen hours community service."

"Oh! Was that all…" said Lily, breathing a sigh of relief to which Harry only looked at her with an amused glance.

"I had a feeling that would come up…" remarked Harry lightly.

"Harry…" began Kristin, always the observant one, "You're taking all this far easier than we had expected considering you've just been… well… you know…" she trailed off.

As Harry had no reply to this the others automatically figured he didn't wish to discuss it any further and switched to another topic to avoid any awkwardness.

* * *

Harry looked up at the house which now seemed more daunting than ever. It was as though it were leering down at him, its windows glaring at him, every inch of the place daring him to enter.

Shivering slightly, Harry didn't even notice the small figure of Lily next to him until she placed her hand on the small of his back and smiled reassuringly up at him, to which Harry only managed a weak smile in return.

Feeling nauseated, Harry knew he would have to go in there sometime and resolutely turned the doorknob, the door creaking open.

Even as Harry and Lily slowly walked in, Harry could hear his friends pulling up in their cars and their loud laughing outside; he had asked them to help him do the move today.

But as Harry looked around the house, he could find nothing he wanted to take with him to his new apartment. All of his possessions were hand-me-downs and old clothes of Vernon's and everything else was too … well… for lack of better word, yuck.

"Harry, you haven't even been in the apartment yet have you?" asked Lily quietly with a smile.

"Good point!" realised Harry with a sheepish grin.

With a small chuckle, Harry decided they would all go for the trip to the 7th street apartments.

Surprisingly enough, as Harry asked if Lily wanted to go in one of the spare car seats or ride with him on the bike, Lily picked the bike, laughing at Harry's expression of shock.

"That damn creature grew on me" she reluctantly admitted with a smile.

Laughing, Harry fastened his helmet as did Lily and with all the cars ready to go, they revved up the bike and Harry led the way as none of the others knew where the apartment was.

Finally, and surprisingly with virtually no screaming from Lily, they had arrived at the apartment. Even the look of it shocked Harry; he had expected a shabby-looking run down sort of apartment but here he was looking at a magnificent white building with dark blue trims. Everything about this place was clean and well looked after.

Double-checking the address to make sure it wasn't one of the shabbier apartments down the street; Harry was surprised to find that it was the right apartment.

As he opened the front door of number 73B, he could hear the gasps of his fellow classmates behind him.

The door opened out into a marvellous living room with deep red walls and a soft cream carpet and beige roof. It had a black leather puffy-looking lounge suite and a grand fireplace off to the side.

One of the doors leading off this housed the kitchen, which in itself was beautiful. With black granite bench tops and new looking bar stools and appliances, it perfectly complimented the light pastel shades of the room.

Going back into the lounge and through another door, they found what appeared to be the guest room. It had a four-poster bed in the middle, decorated with a red and gold bedspread and dark mahogany bed-side tables.

Once again going back into the lounge, they walked up the short flight of stairs and, through the first door, found the bathroom. It had an inset bathtub in the floor, a cubicle shower off to the side and marble tiles covering the floor and framing the large mirror off to the side.

Even the taps and sink seemed to be expensive and well chosen.

Continuing on through the corridor, they found another bedroom, this one having been coloured in lighter shades of green, cream and black.

Finally they found what appeared to be the master bedroom and they could not be more surprised. Even though expecting it to be grander than the rest of the already marvellous house, none of them expected this;

A King sized four poster bed lay against the wall, decorated in red and cream. There was once again a fireplace in this room with a gold lining and the bed side tables were dark mahogany. The carpet was some of the softest any of them had walked on and looked almost black, giving the room a warm sort of atmosphere. Off to the side of the room was another bathroom, more magnificent than the first and through another door held a large walk-in wardrobe, surprisingly enough already holding all of Harry's clothes. Shocked as Harry was at seeing this, he decided to figure it out later, instead looking around the place more.

Finally, all of them made their way back into the lounge in a shocked silence.

"Well…" began Lily, "At least you won't have to worry about spending time fixing this place up…" which got a weak round of chuckles from around the room.

"This place seems like it should be on display in a museum or something but definitely not lived in!" said Harry in an unusually high-pitched voice which brought another round of laughter.

"Hey, you definitely deserve this place" smiled Alyssa seeing the look on his face.

"Well at least you don't need our help moving anything into here." Laughed Brandon.

"Yeah…" replied Harry weakly, looking around the… _his_… apartment.

'This is definitely going to take some getting used to'

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**A/N: Yay! I managed to finish another chapter! Hope the apartment descriptions were good… they were describing my dream house… or apartment…**

**Anyway, once again,**

**Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alrighty! I've just been checking the stats page and the fact that I've had 867 hits on this story but only 19 reviews is not too pleasing! (glares angrily at closest person)**

**So after this chapter, I'm NOT going to update this page again until I get at least 10 reviews!**

**It's not a lot… you read the chapter then push the pretty purple button and say something!**

**(breathes heavily after angry rant)**

**so anyway, here's the last chapter I'm posting till those reviews come in…

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**jbfritz: hahaha… you are definitely one of the most random people I know… did you know, you remind me of someone I know… just can't place who… anyway, thanks for reviewing again! Much appreciated!**

**Emma Barrows: Thanks for reviewing!**

**And yes… considering there were 35 hits to the last chapter, the two comments above are directed at the only TWO people who reviewed…

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The following week was busy for Harry with getting used to the luxuries of his new apartment, end of year school exams and organising Lily's upcoming surprise birthday party.

As Lily was the first person to make friends with Harry and was after all now his girlfriend, he wanted to throw her the best birthday party she'd had so far.

Of course, Lily had no clue about this, but Harry had invited all their friends, some of Lily's relatives and, yes, even her dog.

All of them had been more than happy to come and even happier to help out with the preparations but Harry would have none of it; the decorations would be a surprise, not only to Lily, but to everyone.

The party was to be held at Harry's apartment as it could comfortably house over 50 people (though there were going to be less than that at the party).

Even taking the liberty to make all the food and the cake himself, Harry was feeling quite pleased with himself come the time of the party.

As all the guests started arriving, Harry heard many compliments about the decorations; Right in the middle of the lounge was a double-sided banner that stretched the whole length of the room and had the words 'Happy 16th Birthday Lily' carefully etched into it.

In each corner of the room were assortments of Lily's favourite balloons including the squiggly ones, the long ones, the round ones and even some balloons with pictures of Lily on them!

Off to the side of the room was a table with all the food and drinks Harry had prepared and, to top it all off, the carpet was nowhere to be seen, covered instead with thousands of tiny balloons in all colours.

As he left each of the guests with some party poppers, Harry left the house to pick Lily up.

Unaware of anything that was happening as the party was a week before her actual birthday, Lily was to be found calmly reading a magazine on her bed, wearing only a pair of track pants and her favourite faded t-shirt.

"Lily," panted Harry running into the room, (he never knocked), "Hurry up and change your clothes!"

Lily stared at Harry.

"…why…?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh! Well I decided I want to go see a movie and it starts in less than 15 minutes!" said Harry only thinking of his excuse on the spot.

"Alright then" said Lily still curious about his behaviour, "Get lost so I can change."

"Aw! Come on!" grinned Harry cheekily, "Can't I just stay here and enjoy the pre-show entertainment?"

"No, no and no!" laughed Lily as she shoved him and his pouting face out the door.

As Lily had always been a fast changer, Harry didn't have to wait too long; Lily came out wearing a black skirt that came up to her knees and flowed around her and one of her newer red tops and some casual shoes.

Pleased with this, Harry and her boarded the bike and set off in what actually _was_ the direction of the movies before Harry stopped abruptly halfway there.

"Dammit!" yelled Harry, feigning anger at himself, "I forgot my wallet!" before turning the bike around then heading to his apartment though secretly quite pleased; Lily hadn't suspected a thing.

As they dismounted the bike, Harry received a call on his cellphone from Brandon.

"Hey mate" said Harry into the receiver. Apparently Brandon had just asked where they were for Harry said, "Oh, I forgot my wallet at home so Lily and I are just on our way up to the apartment now." Before saying bye and proceeding up the stairs.

As Harry was the first one to make it up the stairs, he could hear the fast movements of the guests to get into their places although by the time Lily came up the stairs, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

As Harry held open the door for Lily and turned on the lights, all anyone could hear were shouts of,

"SURPRISE!"

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**Oh btw, Sorry this chapter was so short… should I make a visit from the magical folks in the next chapter?**

**Please Review!**


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